The U.S. Patent and Trademark office strikes once again. Motor Authority found a filling from Chrysler for a badge that reads EcoDiesel and has "3.0L" nomenclature as part of it. The report says Chrysler filled this last month.

Earlier this year, Chrysler announced they would be selling a diesel version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. We've been reporting for the past few months that the engine for the Grand Cherokee will be a 3.0L diesel V6 from VM Motori producing 241 HP and 406 lb-ft of torque. Most likely the Grand Cherokee will wear the EcoDiesel badge.

As we reported back in June, Chrysler has pushed back the diesel option till 2014 model year. But will shorten the 2013 model year for the Grand Cherokee, meaning we could see this possibly in January.

Today's Birthdays

Similar Content

The U.S. Justice Department has offered Fiat Chrysler Automobiles a possible settlement over its emissions-cheating EcoDiesel engine. But it will likely cost FCA a large chunk of cash.
Bloomberg obtained a copy of the settlement offer that was sent to FCA's lawyers. The key detail of the proposed settlement says the settlement “must include very substantial civil penalties” that discourage others future violations and that “adequately reflect the seriousness of the conduct that led to these violations.” The proposed settlement doesn't mention an end of the criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
Spokespeople for FCA did not respond for comment.
Bloomberg also obtained a term sheet sent by FCA to Government lawyers back in December. In the sheet, FCA acknowledged that the final settlement would include "civil penalties, an emissions fix for the diesel vehicles and environmental mitigation efforts." The mitigation efforts could include "projects to promote low- or zero-emissions “mobility projects”."
The saga of FCA's EcoDiesel mess dates back to last January when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accused the automaker of having multiple defeat devices installed on the 3.0L EcoDiesel V6 - used in the Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee. Since then, FCA has been working with the EPA and Justice Department on trying to clear this mess up. The automaker has also brought their 2017 and 2018 models equipped with the EcoDiesel into compliance via new software and hopes to do the same for the older models.
Source: Bloomberg

The U.S. Justice Department has offered Fiat Chrysler Automobiles a possible settlement over its emissions-cheating EcoDiesel engine. But it will likely cost FCA a large chunk of cash.
Bloomberg obtained a copy of the settlement offer that was sent to FCA's lawyers. The key detail of the proposed settlement says the settlement “must include very substantial civil penalties” that discourage others future violations and that “adequately reflect the seriousness of the conduct that led to these violations.” The proposed settlement doesn't mention an end of the criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
Spokespeople for FCA did not respond for comment.
Bloomberg also obtained a term sheet sent by FCA to Government lawyers back in December. In the sheet, FCA acknowledged that the final settlement would include "civil penalties, an emissions fix for the diesel vehicles and environmental mitigation efforts." The mitigation efforts could include "projects to promote low- or zero-emissions “mobility projects”."
The saga of FCA's EcoDiesel mess dates back to last January when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accused the automaker of having multiple defeat devices installed on the 3.0L EcoDiesel V6 - used in the Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee. Since then, FCA has been working with the EPA and Justice Department on trying to clear this mess up. The automaker has also brought their 2017 and 2018 models equipped with the EcoDiesel into compliance via new software and hopes to do the same for the older models.
Source: Bloomberg

Retail sales rose 2 percent to 111,577, making it the second highest level since 2001. FCA maintained its strategy of reducing fleet sales, which decreased by 50 percent compared with January 2017. Fleet accounted for 16 percent of total January sales.

Jeep® Brand
Jeep brand total sales increased 2 percent in January to 59,703. Retail sales increased 11 percent to 57,017, setting a record for January. The Jeep Compass generated total sales of 10,192 – also a record for January. Jeep Cherokee total sales for January rose 16 percent to 14,621. Dealerships began receiving deliveries of the all-new 2018 Jeep Wrangler in January, which is being produced in Toledo, Ohio.

Chrysler Brand
Chrysler brand total sales declined 21 percent in January to 10,584 compared with the same month a year ago. The Chrysler Pacifica minivan posted a 20 percent sales increase to 8,011 marking its best January ever. The 2018 Pacifica was also named “Family Car of the Year” by Cars.com in January.
Dodge Brand
Dodge brand total sales declined 31 percent to 27,600. The Dodge Durango full-size SUV continued generating strong results by posting a 9 percent increase in sales compared with the same month a year earlier. The Dodge Challenger received an Automotive Loyalty Award from IHS Markit in January. It had the highest model loyalty in the non-luxury mid-size sport segment.
Ram Truck Brand
Ram Truck brand sales were down 16 percent to 32,039 compared with the previous year. Ram unveiled the new 2019 1500 pickup truck at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. The truck is slated to start production by the end of the first quarter in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

After more than a decade of production, the last Jeep JK Wrangler is expected to roll off the assembly line on April 7th. Automotive News obtained a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) filed by supplier Hyundai Mobis North America to the State of Ohio. The line where the JK is built at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Toledo, Ohio plant will be shut down for extensive retooling to make way for the Wrangler pickup. Production is expected to begin next April.
FCA retooled part of the Toledo plant last year to make way for the JL Wrangler. Production of this model began back in November.
We still don't many details about the Wrangler pickup aside from it looking like the new Wrangler with a pickup bed. Rumor has it that the pickup will have a slightly altered frame from the standard Wrangler and possibly have the Scrambler nameplate.
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)